tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post8774452839171038553..comments2018-05-22T08:38:50.916-05:00Comments on Think Body Electric: My Two Cents on the Anusara Scandal – Yoga is Serious Business; Don’t F*ck with ItCarol Hortonhttps://plus.google.com/106490268431958552859noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-19871794334394616132012-06-18T20:49:01.191-05:002012-06-18T20:49:01.191-05:00It sounds like you may have more information than ...It sounds like you may have more information than I do about the internal power structures. Given that Anusara was not a residential cult, and was in fact very decentralized geographically, it&#39;s hard to understand precisely how the control mechanisms operated. A little has come out on this publicly, but not all that much. <br /><br />The point about Eastern religions at the end was not to suggest that they are intrinsically more authoritarian, prone to power abuses, etc. than others. Rather it was to say that within the yoga community specifically, their Orientalized variants have a lot of cachet - witness &quot;Shiva Shakti Tantra.&quot;Carol Hortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06954595575931726418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-47983647295375817972012-06-18T20:13:51.554-05:002012-06-18T20:13:51.554-05:00karmadogg hits some very salient points that I&#39...karmadogg hits some very salient points that I&#39;m surprised weren&#39;t more central to the article. It wasn&#39;t simply a case of a manipulative rock star - JF constructed power structures that prevented any meaningful challenge to his authority. This goes beyond simply believing one&#39;s own BS and rationalizations. More or less, JF built an authoritarian religion. At the end of your article, why pick on Eastern religions? Many parallels could be drawn with fundamental Christianity and other traditional religions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-46177212228592893602012-05-26T09:41:13.174-05:002012-05-26T09:41:13.174-05:00Thanks, Susanna. Although we&#39;ve never met, you...Thanks, Susanna. Although we&#39;ve never met, your voice has always been one that made me pause and remember that no matter how irritated I felt about Anusara back when it was still the hottest and fastest growing yoga method in America, there must have been good things going on there too because there were such intelligent, creative, and thoughtful people who were into it. Others have also told me how they loved their own particular teachers and community and just put up with the central big top circus tent scene - which was initially all I saw from the outside. <br /><br />It&#39;s exciting to see more and more Anusara-trained teachers taking the opportunity to step into an even more independent, creative, and authentic space - I have read about some of your recent work online and it sounds wonderful. Best wishes.Carol Hortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06954595575931726418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-64720305340718947672012-05-26T00:19:56.435-05:002012-05-26T00:19:56.435-05:00This is such a great spot-on article, and I say th...This is such a great spot-on article, and I say that as a Certified Anusara Teacher who resigned on Feb 15, 2012. You get to the heart of so many issues instead of getting mired in the titillating sex scandal part of it, which is really, as you so astutely point out, a symptom rather than the cause. Although I touched upon these same issues in my &quot;Leaving Anusara&quot; resignation on elephant journal, you posit them in a fully fleshed-out &amp; cogent manner. It is so clear. <br /><br />Many of us had our own ways of thinking &amp; teaching in the community, yet loved the alignment system &amp; the community itself. This made it really hard to leave, even though we discretely rolled our eyes at the Shiva-Shakti Tantra Primer &amp; had a whole host of other issues creatively &amp; financially with Anusara. Thank you so much for this piece. I don&#39;t know how I missed it a month &amp; 1/2 ago. So glad to see it now - it is just as relevant now as it was when you wrote it...Susanna Harwood Rubinhttp://www.elephantjournal.com/author/susanna-harwood-rubin/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-10599978240289372372012-05-24T23:50:54.806-05:002012-05-24T23:50:54.806-05:00As a Yoga practitioner we all felt disappointed by...As a Yoga practitioner we all felt disappointed by the Anusara Scandal and had a lot of questions. I think this article answers most of them.Thanks.Anamaya Yoga Retreathttp://www.anamayaresort.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-22664283467891046512012-05-12T19:52:13.462-05:002012-05-12T19:52:13.462-05:00hey Carol, Good job. i too have been watching fro...hey Carol, Good job. i too have been watching from the sidelines, tempted to comment but censoring or withholding most of what i might really have to say if i were totally blunt and honest, out of compassion for those more deeply affected. there is definitely an element of abuse in John Friend&#39;s actions - abuse of trust, abuse of others, abuse of self; also a significant amount of hierarchy in the Anusara community, and not a meritocratic hierarchy either, or things would never have gone as far as they did. the central issue to me is about self-empowerment, the healthy kind, which scandals of this sort always challenge us to recognize as the only real vaccination we can have against this kind of virus - because that&#39;s what it is, a consciousness virus that feeds on lies and on each participant&#39;s self-doubt and feelings of unworthiness, whether we play the victim or the perpetrator in any particular drama.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-60453603581937379342012-04-19T17:53:16.920-05:002012-04-19T17:53:16.920-05:00Hi Carol.. Yes..sad but true.. You may go back to...Hi Carol.. Yes..sad but true.. You may go back to our first comments about the JF development when it broke - My thoughts on the debacle are essentially unchanged. I wondered then - why all the shock when time after time / and through centuries and cultures the formula remains the same: STRONG CHARISMA + PURPORTED SPIRITUAL ANSWERS multiplied by DEVOTEES, taken to the power of AUTHORITY /divide by MONEY and subsequent POWER STRUCTURES and the product always comes out to equal = BLIND ARROGANCE and its remainders (power structures trump stated mission; blind preservation of structures at any cost, hiding/lying/deep denial to the end). The JF story mirrors exactly the sad tale of many of our political and religious leaders (think 8 out of 10 of male gov officials and the Catholic Church, for example, for like moral/mission breakdowns amid onlooker shock and horror. This story is old as the hills - and always just a little more sad when directly linked to spiritual life (as opposed to civic). Which &quot;costs&quot; us more? Hard to say... . Lesson? In government, love, friendship, religion or ANY &quot;human relational practice&quot; - Don&#39;t Give Your Moral Compass Away for any claimed &quot;Greater Good&quot;. The true Greater Good resides already (and had always resided) within your heart. When in doubt - Be still, Be Silent and Listen Deeply<br />. The Truth will emerge.karmadogghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04042897743178453839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-48798423527517544892012-04-18T13:25:03.093-05:002012-04-18T13:25:03.093-05:00This was posted somewhere and I am an ex-inspired ...This was posted somewhere and I am an ex-inspired teacher. I found it one of the more articulate analysis of events and feelings so far.Taranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-25586637456357308772012-04-18T12:40:54.870-05:002012-04-18T12:40:54.870-05:00I would argue that the more pernicious instances o...I would argue that the more pernicious instances of &quot;rock star syndrome&quot; very much involve &quot;believing your own bullshit.&quot; It goes beyond simply taking advantage of willing groupies because you can and becomes elevating this basely self-interested activity into a benevolent act of consorting with others elevated enough to be allowed into your exceptional inner circle. <br /><br />Re pagans, Eco Yogini has already spokes to this more knowledgeably than I could have. I would point out, however, that some &quot;traditional&quot; Tantric practices were pretty out there themselves. According to one scholar, for example, the medieval Hatha yogis were so far &quot;from the Ahimsa (non-violent) tradition of the polished Brahmanical yogins that they participated in all manner of blood rites, including human sacrifice.&quot;Carol Hortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06954595575931726418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-36736048037954618012012-04-18T12:30:37.193-05:002012-04-18T12:30:37.193-05:00Very well put indeed.Very well put indeed.Taranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-88925809561559357642012-04-18T12:00:05.047-05:002012-04-18T12:00:05.047-05:00Common sense and practicality with a touch of prag...Common sense and practicality with a touch of pragamtism in viewing the subjective surroundings....Brilliant! Great article, Carol. Well worth the read.Andrew Gurveynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-59476351014297587052012-04-18T05:57:25.297-05:002012-04-18T05:57:25.297-05:00&quot;Paganism tends to worship the divine feminin...&quot;Paganism tends to worship the divine feminine, and prakriti (nature). Eventually this goes down hill into a cultist ceremony, until there is some sort of fertility rite or sexual orgy. We&#39;ll at least they are not drinking the blood and eating the flesh of their latest sacrifice, but they once did.&quot;<br /><br />I&#39;d like to know where you&#39;ve attained this information as I would have to disagree with such a narrow-woefully misguided, statement. Neo-Pagans may draw from pre-christianity beliefs, however Wicca as a religion (which is the point of discussion for JF) is only 60 years old and is NOT based on human sacrifice and sexual orgies. I would also go so far as to state that pagans and human sacrifice are a tenuous link unfounded by archeology and historians (but encouraged by the media and Christian backlash).<br /><br />I strongly recommend reading more on the topic before making such damaging and dismissive statements.Eco Yoginihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10693080137196812405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-17060839110624811782012-04-17T22:40:54.242-05:002012-04-17T22:40:54.242-05:00Well done, Carol. Thank you.
BobWell done, Carol. Thank you.<br /><br />BobBob Weisenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17901724364758068670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-53988025253224232332012-04-17T13:20:12.615-05:002012-04-17T13:20:12.615-05:00It is interesting to note that the Shiva/Shakti Ta...It is interesting to note that the Shiva/Shakti Tantra is closely associated with the seven chakras and the nature of the body. It is an interesting study, and a vast philosophy. <br /><br />Each of the chakras is associated with a Shiva and a Shakti, represented as a Lord and a Goddess. These are Brahman, Vishnu, Rudhra, Ishvara, and so on - each a different aspect of God. The shiva/shakti part explains the manifestation of, and roles we play as individuals. The Shakti (Goddess) is the power of, or manifestation of the consciousness of the Lord. The goddesses are not sluts - they are the consorts of their lord. <br /><br />Paganism tends to worship the divine feminine, and prakriti (nature). Eventually this goes down hill into a cultist ceremony, until there is some sort of fertility rite or sexual orgy. We&#39;ll at least they are not drinking the blood and eating the flesh of their latest sacrifice, but they once did. The communion ceremony of Christianity was a replacement for the pagan one. <br /><br />In this case, I think the Shiva/Shakti Tantra package was seen as a sexy way to sell the product of Anusara. I liked John&#39;s &quot;Sacred Geometry&quot; package. <br /><br />I think that John Friend simply fell from &quot;Rock Star Syndom&quot;, the same thing that brings down many gurus of the new age movement. Same thing happens among the organized religions too.<br /><br />Sexual liaisons with subordinate teachers, and especially with students is a violation of the code of ethics of a yoga teacher. Adultery is a another matter, forbidden of one who professes to be teaching spiritual truth. Misappropriation of money takes the issue to an ever greater level. <br /><br />Fame, Fortune, and the opportunity it brings to exploit young social climbers who will do anything for a backstage pass...Sonyatahttp://facebook.com/Sonyatanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-62075113111958078462012-04-17T13:04:49.231-05:002012-04-17T13:04:49.231-05:00All true and well said, Hillary.All true and well said, Hillary.Carol Hortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06954595575931726418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-55788408687380155592012-04-17T13:03:28.083-05:002012-04-17T13:03:28.083-05:00While I never took the idea that JF was really pra...While I never took the idea that JF was really practicing Wicca seriously, I did initially find the pretense funny enough to enjoy repeating the phrase. The whole claim to be &quot;Grand Master&quot; of a &quot;Wiccan sex coven&quot; (one with its own logo, yet) struck me as too ridiculous to be taken seriously. <br /><br />But of course, I never took Shiva-Shakti Tantra seriously, either. <br /><br />Later it occurred to me that if we keep repeating &quot;Wiccan sex coven&quot; as this story grows and spreads, it does start to stick onto Wicca itself. So to the extent that I make references to it in the future (which I don&#39;t expect to be much), I plan to keep noting that this was clearly NOT really Wicca - and hope that others will do the same.Carol Hortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06954595575931726418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-50659649150080731662012-04-17T08:37:15.690-05:002012-04-17T08:37:15.690-05:00As always, a considered and sound weighing in.
Y...As always, a considered and sound weighing in. <br /><br />Yes, yoga is serious business but perhaps we might also consider that she&#39;s been dressed up in funny costumes by children who find her fascinating and shiny and she makes them happy; she is their favorite toy. She is available everywhere and everyone has one and wonderful and prized as she is, she is also taken for granted, relegated to the status of one that is there for the taking, do what you want with it. Sometimes that goes badly.<br /><br />We might consider what an otherwise intelligent man did with a cigar in the oval office, what family men did to other family&#39;s savings and investments, men of the cloth crossing the line with members of the flock, how trusted family members and grade school teachers have trespassed upon children, what officers of the Peace sometimes do to innocent citizens. This is yoga and that is a nation&#39;s moral standing, a child&#39;s innocence, a trusted adviser who can&#39;t be trusted, a religious father of the flock who is horny and twisted or desperate for attention. Yoga is not alone. Life is serious business. Yoga&#39;s use is in recognizing who we are and what we have to do manage that, to understand that.<br /><br />Terrible things are done quietly to vulnerable people under the banner of our greatest trusts regularly. JF is exposed because half a million people or so followed and paid for one path under one leader and his people. And because someone finally broke. He was exposed once and now again. Transparency is necessary and it worked. He is no longer powerful. It&#39;s done.<br /><br />Yoga has not changed. But like all things it is subject to the manipulations of the practitioners.<br /><br />We have good and kind and moral leaders, investors who will protect our investments, teachers and family who raise children with compassion, military and cops and secret service who will die to protect the innocent, men of the cloth who live to guide others toward God and happiness.<br /><br />It&#39;s all there too. It&#39;s all the business of recognizing our fragility, of helping us find ourselves in a safe way. Something that has not changed in our human condition is the need for that. As you pointed out in an earlier post, many unsung teachers are doing the job seriously. John Friend is a symbol of insecurity and its evil twin.Hilary Lindsayhttp://www.bitchinyoga.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-50583313160663738152012-04-16T19:00:35.493-05:002012-04-16T19:00:35.493-05:00great piece, Carol. thank you for sharing your ins...great piece, Carol. thank you for sharing your insights. for me, by far the most disturbing thing was the abuse of power (well, that and the gross commercialization of yoga). the truth of suffering is real (the First Noble Truth)! if we refuse to acknowledge it, we will only create more of it.Joannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02606182767373252717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-16225121584639261492012-04-16T18:49:29.736-05:002012-04-16T18:49:29.736-05:00An insightful post. Interestingly, the one Anusara...An insightful post. Interestingly, the one Anusara Instructor I&#39;ve met/practiced with/been taught by, resulted in quite a few passive aggressive and deceitful instances (on her part) camouflaged in &quot;bliss and love&quot;. <br />It was a very disheartening experience (which is funny since Anusara is all about the &quot;heart&quot;...). <br /><br />Of course, my situation is mere consequence- I know there are many fabulous Anusara instructors- but it&#39;s interesting nonetheless.<br /><br />(ps- thank you for clearly stating that what JF practiced was not wicca. I appreciate it very much).Eco Yoginihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10693080137196812405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-85580697713574412602012-04-16T18:20:03.212-05:002012-04-16T18:20:03.212-05:00I&#39;d like to take your classes, Brenda!
The a...I&#39;d like to take your classes, Brenda! <br /><br />The apologies and anxiety you describe are remarkable. If that level of insecurity is normal, and I think it is (although people aren&#39;t necessarily usually so open about it), then that&#39;s more evidence to show how important it is to be honest about teaching yoga in ways that help us ground and know ourselves, as opposed to selling us ideologies that play on our fears and weaknesses. (And both the &quot;body beautiful&quot; and &quot;mystic East&quot; sales packages do just that, I&#39;d argue.)Carol Hortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06954595575931726418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-70546988631099926662012-04-16T18:18:37.755-05:002012-04-16T18:18:37.755-05:00Indeed, but what makes people in such numbers igno...Indeed, but what makes people in such numbers ignore their better judgement and commit to such a faux sub-sub-sub-genre? This phenomenon spans many cultures and many eras. Mostly I believe that the cause is from sporadic and spontaneous instances of confabulation which are reinforced communally within overlapping paradigms of spiritual mythology and didactic ascesis.Mat Wittshttp://facebook.com/yoganetworknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-60992620507921903602012-04-16T18:16:18.055-05:002012-04-16T18:16:18.055-05:00Beautifully put, Karin. Thanks.Beautifully put, Karin. Thanks.Carol Hortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06954595575931726418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-22572442810208668362012-04-16T18:15:08.743-05:002012-04-16T18:15:08.743-05:00Thanks, Adan. I&#39;m not Buddhist, although I&#39...Thanks, Adan. I&#39;m not Buddhist, although I&#39;ve learned much from the teachings, so am not sure how the &quot;grappling&quot; plays out in that community.<br /><br />I do know that I&#39;ve found it humorous moving from being into the yoga community, which is so insistent on love-and-light-and-positivity-all-the-time, into a Buddhist gathering where group discussion started out with a cheerful invocation of, &quot;OK, now that we&#39;ve meditated and had tea, let&#39;s talk about suffering and death!&quot; And people were really into it.<br /><br />Somehow, at least in my limited experience, I haven&#39;t quite hit the happy medium. But maybe that&#39;s another delusion . . . :)Carol Hortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06954595575931726418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-65717457927522606332012-04-16T17:00:56.105-05:002012-04-16T17:00:56.105-05:00Hear, hear. Ever since I started teaching here in...Hear, hear. Ever since I started teaching here in my little corner of the Midwest, I&#39;ve had to undo the damage done to yoga&#39;s &quot;reputation&quot; by the bendy, blissed-out imagery. People are scared to try a class because they&#39;re afraid they aren&#39;t flexible or skinny enough, or they think they might be asked to engage in some sort of religious practice. Almost every new student apologizes to me when I introduce myself, or has an anxious look when I ask everyone to sit crossed-legged at the beginning of class. <br />I try to stress my common-sense approach and let students discover their own connection to the practice...rather than dictate how they are supposed to be feeling. What do I know about the baggage they are bringing to class? <br />Yoga has so much to offer the thinking student. I&#39;d rather they engage on an intellectual and physical level, because that&#39;s when (in my experience) people start to get it. I&#39;d like to think I help them start the process, but really the work is all theirs--the delightful and the difficult.Brenda P.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15706976926804565629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090959501710393621.post-8877509411696910602012-04-16T16:42:37.536-05:002012-04-16T16:42:37.536-05:00Lovely, prescient thoughts Carol, precisely the mo...Lovely, prescient thoughts Carol, precisely the mode of self and cultural reflection and discretion that is so necessary right now and has been so lamentably absent. Not only in Anusara, but across the board. <br /><br />There is a strange thing happening, and it has brought a lot of pain and bad choices, but is in the end the shifting of a culture. We have been changed by yoga, but we are also changing it. There is plenty of reason to think this could be an incredible good. But there is also the difficulty of business over truth, sales over students, myth over integrity. It remains to be seen what will happen to American yoga, whether we can as a culture grow up enough to look at its hard spiritual truths in full or will continue to manipulate it as packaged nirvana.<br /><br />As economy changes, as taxation and branding changes, as the process of becoming a teacher changes we&#39;re faced with a point blank question of whether teaching is a &#39;career&#39; or a &#39;calling&#39;, practice is a spiritual path or a business, and studios are cultural, spiritual places like a church or private enterprise like everything else. There is a sense in which we&#39;ve tried to have both. It becomes, when we do, a false promise and a blind manipulation, a cult. A psychological lie is necessary to hold that up. The questions are hard and the ramifications big. <br /><br />But people are asking them. That is our yoga.Karin L Burkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02022067467253159850noreply@blogger.com